I'm thinking of buying a cheap (exception sony, but I can get it for a pretty decent price on sale) player that mainly focuses on music (some video is fine, but I've got my Cowon D2 for that) that I can treat bad, like when I go skating or mountain biking.

Anyways, how do their sound quality compare? Which is the best sounding one? And also can you order them from best to least sounding? I don't care about anything else here, just sound quality.

For music W/destructive intentions in mind I think the clip is the way to go as it can put out excellent sound AND its the cheapest of choices. I'll order as best as I can cause' I've never used the M6. 1.S61X series 2.clip of course 3.M6? I know someone will give you further input on the M6 but I don't think its the right player to skate or bike with because it a touch controlled device. The others have a tactile (buttons) controls and would be more suited to physical activity.

Thanks for the help, I'm thinking of taking the M6 off of my list, but the cheap price + all of those features and good sound quality and bass turn me on. But then again the touch strip turns me off too. I guess the M6 is off my list now.

Anyways, for sound quality I'm looking for a nice balanced, flat (as in frequency response) sound, and little towards the low end end, but I can easily tweak the eq for a bit more bass.

And like I said, I dont mind the price of the sony, since I can get it for a pretty good price on sale when it comes (the 4 gb should be $100 soon)

I have both and I would go with the sony because the 3 deciding factors are
1. the screen
2. the battery life
3. the sq is PHENOMENAL!!!
Though not necessarily in that order
Final decision is yours - that why I always say check out Anazon and cnet for USER reviews and you'll see the average opinion of everyday users (like us)

... the touch strip turns me off too. I guess the M6 is off my list now.

Anyways, for sound quality I'm looking for a nice balanced, flat (as in frequency response) sound, and little towards the low end end, but I can easily tweak the eq for a bit more bass.

And like I said, I dont mind the price of the sony, since I can get it for a pretty good price on sale when it comes (the 4 gb should be $100 soon)

During my shopping I eventually eliminated all players with touch sensitive controls or touch screen. Beside jogging with my Sony I like to fall asleep listing to music. I can... skip songs, fast forward, reverse, pause, stop and adjust volume all without opening my eyes. I love it.

As to the sound quality I own several MP3 players (two different iRiver models, iAudio, Sansa etc.) The Sony Walkman its sound quality and all the control that the equalizer functions provides to tweak the music to what I like again make the Sony the clear winner.

I have both the 8GB S618 and 8GB A818 models. Personally I tip my hat to the S610 series because it has a FM tuner, it cost less and there is no difference in the sound quality. Granted, the 810 series has a metal case (which costs more the plastic case of the 610... and the 810 comes with really nice earbuds. However, while the earbuds with the 810 are better than what other manufacturers provides with their players, they are not audiophile quality. To level set, you can buy the 810 earbuds by themselves for $29 so that should give you an idea. As for the 610 earbuds I imagine you could buy similar quality for about $10 bucks. As to the metal case of the 810... it can give you, the buyer, a sense of satisfaction from a quality standpoint but then again nobody has ever said to me Wow, your MP3 player has a metal case. What it does do is makes you feel a little better when you try to justify the higher cost. If I had it to do over I'd buy two 610's and put the savings towards a set of quality earbuds.

Last.... I'm not sure where you live, or where you shop but your comment (the 4 gb should be $100 soon) caught me buy surprise. My brother got his 4GB for less than $100 over a month ago...and I only paid $130 for my 8GB. If you are not a eBay shopper you might want to think about it. I've made over 166 purchased in the last couple years and have never been ripped off once (you just have to be careful... like reading every line of the description, and watching for extremely high shipping charges, etc. However, I buy based on the sellers feedback. If he's sold lots of stuff and his seller rating is 98% or above I don't question it. I purchased both my 8GB S618 and 8GB A818's off eBay.

FYI: When it comes to electronics I only purchase electronics off eBay when advertised as New in original box, not refurbished. And since I live in the US I only buy from sellers in the US (sorry I won't risk an overseas shipment). Then just to add an additional sense of comfort (warm fuzzy), after I receive and test the item I purchase the eBay Extended warranty via their SquareTrade program. A 3 year warranty on the 8Gb S618 was only $16. Yes... I know warranty cost add's to the overall price of the player but it gives me more satisfaction comfort than does the metal case of the 818.

To give you an idea of the bargains possible on eBay here are some 8GB Sony Walkmans recently sold on eBay in the $130 range... and some 4GB models that sold in the $75 - $89 range. Just go to eBay and enter these numbers in the search window:

120234167485
130205906328
160218422178
290212837086
190207256841

Some 4GB models in the $100 range (even one at $75!)

220213099349
150226915118
150226265459
120231276246

NOTE!. IMPORTANT! As you know, eBay is an auction where High Bidder wins!. DO NOT fall into the sike of "I gotta win no matter what!" attitude. When the bidding is above $89 on the 4GB models or $130 on the 8GB models Drop Out! Wait for the another one. Be patient! It may take a week or two but you'll snag one. Click these links to see the "current 4GB Models and 8GB Modelsbeing sold right now. Hint: Don't keep bidding early in the auction just to maintain a high bidder position (you are just raising the price). Instead wait until the last minute of the auction (or even 15 seconds) to place your bid. This provides less time for someone to see your bid and outbid you before the auction closes. (Before anyone flames me ...) I should mention that last minute bidding (commonly referred to as sniping) is considered by some to be morally apprehensible because it doesn't give others a chance to outbid you and can limit the profit made by the seller.

That said... there are tons of Walkmans on eBay. Just be patient and you to can steal one at a really sweet price.

__________________I want to die in my sleep like my grandfather... not screaming in horror like the passengers in his car.

If you're wondering how robust the Sony is, I generally keep it in my jeans pocket. The screen so far has a few shallow scratches, but I think those came from putting it in my pocket and forgetting there was a keychain, loose change and a knife in there. I've slid down hills on my side, been tackled, been kicked and I've accidentally dropped it on tiled floors and there seems to be no damage that resulted from any of these things. The sound quality is really damn good - I have no idea how it compares to the other players you mentioned, but it's almost as good as my PSP, and that's the best-sounding media player I've ever listened to. The bundled earbuds are heinously bad, but you ought to have alternative ones anyway.

5mw per channel is DEF no cowon D2 but it still does a decent job. Just don't count on these driving some of the bigger sets of cans without an amp. Sound is worth it though - price is still a little steep for me.

5mw per channel is DEF no cowon D2 but it still does a decent job. Just don't count on these driving some of the bigger sets of cans without an amp. Sound is worth it though - price is still a little steep for me.

No doubt about it, Sonys are more expensive than many no name models or even a Sansa, but they're cheaper than a Zune. I guess its all relative.

As I mentioned the other day... if a person has no problems with eBay there are some fantastic bargains to be had.

so i am guessing DSEE uses a re quantizing scheme to re sample at 96khz and put on some sort of anti aliasing function... Also the dac has a flat noise floor up to 16 Khz which is very impressive.... (I am guessing this is achieved by DSP inside the DAC, as it contains a simple DSP)

But yeah it looks really good on paper but performs really well also... The D2 just doesn't have the warmth the S600 ans A800 have... Its almost back to the charming MD audio style...

I think the sony's are worth it especially now that the new models are upping the ante to 16gb. I'll just wait myself for the price drop!!! As for the sound, IMO the sony has the best sound as the D2 can be a bit "rough" even after adjusting the eq "just so".

I see the Cowon i7 4 gig being sold through Amazon by Jet Audio for $95. B&H Photo sells the 4 gig Sony A816 in black for just $90. The Sony is listed as having just 5mw per channel output, so it needs to be used with very efficient headphones. Imo the players with the smaller screens are probably more durable under rugged conditions. Those who are very destructive might want to consider a Creative one gig Nano Plus. Creative's US website sells it for just $25. For $100 you can buy 4 of them. It comes with a rubber case/belt clip. The Clip as others have mentioned is a good inexpensive choice, especially if you focus on the one or two gig models.

The Sony A816 is said to come with good earphones. That doesn't seem to be the case for the 616. Which player do you have?

The S618 sounds great as long as you replace the seriously CRAPPY head phones they give you. This is the model I have and the sq is superior to all the players I have used - even when I had the D2. The fact that the A81X series comes with a much better pair of phones should have been a decisive factor for me but I opted for the radio. Cant say I'm sorry for that as the radio sounds FANTASTIC as well. I don't like using it too much though as it makes my Zen sound "hollow" when I pick it up and take a listen (32gb was the deciding factor for the Zen - EBAY is a great thing!!!). I've said it before and I'll repeat my self again - MAKE THE NEW SONYS' 32gb AND I'LL SELL EVERY PMP I OWN!!! Sorry I'm shouting but of all the players on the market - even considering the fact its uses MTP - I still prefer Sony to all the others.